Lighting is a critical element in any human endeavor, whether the activity takes place in an indoor or outdoor environment. In indoor environments, people work more efficiently and are happier when there is proper lighting. In exterior lighting environments, sufficient light is necessary just to have the activity and plays a critical factor in many situations such as parking lots or residential, or commercial streets where proper lighting dramatically increases the safety of the people involved. As can be appreciated such lighting usually comes from very high power lighting systems and therefore efficiency is extremely desirable.
Proper lighting means that there is sufficient illumination and natural color for interior and exterior conditions. Of course, in some lighting instances it may be desirable to have a tint on the color. It therefore would be desirable to have an illumination source in which the color is changeable to match the desired environment.
High power lighting fixtures have been known for many years. Such fixtures are characterized by high powered lamps, also known as a high lumen packages, typically having several thousand lumens. Typically, such lighting fixture systems include a lamp fill having an envelope. The fill contains a material which is energized by means within the fixture, e.g. a microwave power source to radiate light energy. In one such instance, the fill material comprises mercury to provide relatively inexpensive and high efficiency lighting. As discussed in Dolan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,076, which is specifically incorporated herein by reference, such a fill while efficient and desirable as a lighting source also provides a potential environmental hazard. Dolan et al. discusses and discloses an electrodeless sulfur lamp in which the light source is disclosed as sulfur or selenium. A microwave source excites the sulfur fill element causing illumination. The microwave source radiates microwave energy into an envelope surrounding the sulfur fill. The envelope retains the microwave energy and does not allow the microwave energy to pass through the envelope. By its nature, the exterior of the envelope attenuates light rays crossing it. Thus, any light ray which crosses the envelope will be attenuated, either absorbed or scattered, to a fairly high degree.
Thus, while the Dolan et al. disclosure advances the art of lighting because it discloses a light source which is environmentally acceptable and highly efficient, it does not address the problem of reflected light being attenuated by the envelope before leaving the luminaire, or, as set forth in Dolan et al., the microwave screen. Additionally, Dolan et al. does not discuss, disclose, or teach its light source being used in a system for reflected lighting.
Other reflectors have been developed for high intensity discharge (HID) lamps. Naum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,695, is an example of an HID lamp which discloses a reflector-based light system employing a single reflector plate to distribute light energy from a high intensity discharge lamp. Naum discloses a single reflector which is generally concave in shape. As will be evident from Applicants' FIG. 1, such a reflector would tend to have reflected light rays intersect with the envelope or microwave screen. As described above, such reflected light rays are attenuated, either absorbed or scattered, and significantly decrease the efficiency of the lighting system.
The benefits of indirect light for reading and working are becoming more evident. Such indirect light enables one to work without the usual shadows and other drawbacks of a conventional incandescent or HID lamp system. However, such a system also requires increased lumens to provide the same quantity of task lighting. In order to provide such lighting in an economic manner, a highly efficient lighting system is necessary. No currently known system yields such results in a manner as efficient as the instant invention. It is also desirable to provide a reflected lamp system which is environmentally acceptable and which allows wide spread, efficient, and even illumination of interior and exterior space.
It is unnecessary for the purposes of this invention whether the light source has electrodes, or whether it is electrodeless. It is preferable to provide a reflector system for whatever chosen light source that results in efficient and even distribution of light. While the invention will be disclosed with respect to indirect lighting systems, direct lighting systems also benefit from the results of Applicants' reflector system and its inherent efficiency. Accordingly, the Applicants herein have developed a reflector system which is believed to fulfill the long felt industry need as set forth above.